


equivalent exchange: half of your life for half of mine

by buoyantsaturn



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Bickering, M/M, that's it that's the whole fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-29
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22947196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buoyantsaturn/pseuds/buoyantsaturn
Summary: Will fixes up Nico's automail.
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 27
Kudos: 77





	equivalent exchange: half of your life for half of mine

**Author's Note:**

> can't stop thinking about fma so here we are folks
> 
> the title comes from the end of fma:b where (spoiler) ed basically asks winry to marry him but like,,,, that doesn't happen in this fic because they're probably like 15/16 in this
> 
> for those of you who aren't familiar with fma (go watch it it's on netflix) all you should need to know is that nico lost his arm and leg, will builds metal prosthetics called automail, and hazel's soul is trapped in a giant suit of armor
> 
> enjoy!!

Nico leaned heavily against the back of Will’s chair, gazing over Will’s shoulder at the work table in front of him. He tried to keep any weight off of his left leg - the plastic of his temporary prosthetic pinched his skin and made him feel off-balance.

“How much longer?” Nico asked.

“Six for the arm, eight for the leg,” Will replied, his focus remaining entirely on his work. 

“Six what?  _ Days?” _

_ “Hours. _ What kind of mechanic do you take me for?” Will shot back. “It’ll be quicker if you would  _ let me work.” _

Nico rolled his eyes. “How much quicker? I have to get back to Central - I’m  _ so close _ to figuring out how to get myself a Philosopher’s stone, I’m  _ certain _ of it!”

Will sighed and set down the wrench he was using. “Eager to get away from here again, huh?” He lifted a screwdriver and got back to work.

“No, that’s not what I meant,” Nico said, and huffed. He reached around Will’s shoulder and pointed at the metal plate Will had just attached to his arm. “What is that, platinum?”

“Titanium.”

“But it’s so shiny.”

“That’s what it looks like when you actually  _ polish your automail,” _ Will snapped.

He huffed again. “Whatever.” Nico kept his arm draped around Will’s shoulder and set his chin on the top of Will’s head. Will continued his work, but after Nico’s fourth or fifth heavy sigh, Will shook him loose.

“If you insist on being in the room, then go sit down over there,” Will told him, nodding toward the couch across the room. “You can hang on me when I’m not busy.”

“What? I’m not--” Nico spluttered, shoving himself away, “I don’t  _ hang on you.” _

“Yeah you do.” When Nico moved away, he could see the beginnings of a smile on Will’s face. He sat down on the couch and detached the plastic prosthetic, then rubbed at the red skin it left behind. “Why don’t you take a nap or something? Don’t think I didn’t hear you and Hazel talking all night.”

“What am I supposed to do? Leave her to sit in silence all night? I feel bad enough as it is, she shouldn’t have to spend all of her time alone, too. Besides, I couldn’t sleep anyway.”

“Sure, I bet that’s what it was. What were you talking about?”

Nico started to ramble about alchemic properties that Will didn’t understand and names he didn’t recognize - there was some doctor he needed to find in order to learn more about the Philosopher’s stone, but Will stopped paying attention almost immediately. He liked hearing Nico talk, and it was nice to not have to work in silence like usual, though after a short while, Nico’s rambling turned to mumbling, and soon enough he’d talked himself to sleep. 

Once Will realized he was in silence once more, he glanced over his shoulder to see Nico stretched out across the couch, his hand tucked under his shirt as if to keep his fingers warm. Will smiled and went back to work.

It was hours later that his silence was disturbed by Hazel’s echoing footsteps coming up the stairs and toward Will’s workroom. “Nico?” she called.

“He’s sleeping,” Will told her. “What’s up?”

“Your mom made dinner - and she let me help this time!” Hazel told him, the glow of her eyes shining a little brighter for a moment to show her excitement. “She asked me to come get you two. Unless you’re planning on working through dinner again?”

At just the mention of dinner, Will’s stomach rumbled. He stretched his arms over his head and said, “Nah, I could use a break anyway. We’ll be right there.”

Hazel nodded, a subtle twitch of her helmet, and turned to head back down the stairs - the doorway was too small for her to fit through, which left Will in charge of waking Nico for dinner. He stood up, legs protesting after going unused for a few too many hours, and made his way toward the couch. 

Will ran a finger along the bottom of Nico’s foot. “Wakey wakey, Spooks,” Will said softly, watching as Nico’s face twitched as he approached consciousness. “C’mon, you’ll never get any taller if you keep skipping meals.”

“Shu’up,” Nico muttered, and tried to kick at Will’s hand, though he was sluggish in his sleepy state. 

“Sit up so I can put your prosthetic back on,” Will directed, holding out a hand to pull Nico up, though Nico pushed himself upright on his own.

Nico rubbed at his eyes, then brushed the hair out of his face. “Hate that thing.”

“Yeah, well, you’re stuck with it at least until tomorrow.” Will knelt down in front of Nico and lined the prosthetic up with Nico’s leg. He winced when Will secured it in place.

“Can’t you at least do something about the pinching?”

“Do you want your automail done or not? I can only do one thing at a time.” Nico was at least kind enough to point his glare across the room, rather than at Will. “I’m sure Mama can figure something out after dinner. Think you can make it down the stairs, or will I have to carry you?”

Nico pushed at his shoulder, then used it to help him balance as he stood. “I can  _ walk, _ Solace.”

“Okay, but don’t expect me to catch you if you fall down the stairs!” Will called after him and Nico moved out into the hall, following behind him shortly.

Nico lifted his hand off the rail just long enough to flip Will off before he continued down the stairs. He winced with just about every step as the prosthetic pinched and rubbed at the skin of his leg, and Nico feared he would end up with a blister or two by the time he got his regular leg back. 

As soon as he sat down at the table, Nico whined, “Naomi, Will did something to my prosthetic and it hurts like  _ crazy.” _

“What!” Will exclaimed as he followed Nico to the table. “I didn’t do anything to it, not since the last time you used it!”

“Then you put it on wrong or  _ something.” _

Naomi sighed, used to their familiar bickering, but that didn’t mean she had to like it. “Boys, no arguing at the table. Nico, I’ll take a look at your prosthetic after dinner, and Will, make Nico a plate so he doesn’t have to stand.”

“Yes, Mama,” Will said, and took Nico’s plate, picking out a thin slice of pot roast and dropping a heaping scoop of vegetables onto the plate. “There you go! Better eat your veggies so you can grow big and strong!”

Nico grabbed his fork and pointed it towards Will threateningly. “Will--”

Rather than flinching back or holding his hands up in surrender, Will reached over and ruffled Nico’s hair. 

“Hey!” Nico slammed his fork down so that he could brush the hair out of his face, and huffed in frustration when he realized that it was just going to keep falling in the way as he ate - and with only one hand, he had no way of tying his hair back himself. He slumped back against his chair and lolled his head toward Will. He cleared his throat and held his hand out. “Will…” 

Will glanced at him curiously, but when his eyes flickered down to Nico’s offered hand, he broke out in a grin. He jumped out of his seat and slipped the elastic band from Nico’s wrist before moving behind Nico. Will raked his fingers through Nico’s hair, pulling it back and up, twisting and piling it on the top of Nico’s head. He bopped the bun on Nico’s head before taking his seat beside Nico once more, his grin somehow bigger and brighter than before.

Nico glared at him. “I hate you.”

“Aw, but you look so cute, Spooky!”

“Naomi, can you  _ please _ make a ‘no flirting’ rule for the dinner table, too?” Hazel asked.

Nico jumped in his seat and squawked, “We are  _ not flirting!” _

* * *

Nico started hovering over Will again as soon as he got back to work after dinner, and unfortunately this time Will couldn’t trick Nico into talking himself to sleep again. 

“What are you doing with that piece?” Nico asked for probably the seventh time in the last hour.

“Once again, this is just one of the outer plates that’ll protect your nerves and the inner workings of the automail,” Will repeated. 

“Is this really as fast as you can work?”

“I wouldn’t have so much work to do if you hadn’t completely destroyed the thing. I basically had to rebuild it from scratch, you know.”

“It’s not my fault some crazy guy tried to kill me--”  
“It wouldn’t kill you to be a little more careful, is all I’m saying!”

“Quit yelling at me and do your job! I can’t risk you getting distracted and messing something up. It’ll be just my luck that you’ll forget a screw or something and almost get me killed.”

“Like you even have any idea what I’m doing!”

“I-- You--!” Nico huffed. “Whatever.”

“Why are you even in here if you’re just going to tell me how to do my job?”

Nico frowned. “Are you telling me to leave?”

Will paused. “...No.” 

“Good.”

A tense silence passed between them, broken only by the creaking of metal beneath Will’s fingers.

“Look, Nico,” he said around a sigh, “can you just...give me some space? I like having the company, but… I just can’t work with you breathing down my neck, okay?”

“Oh. Fine.” Nico stood and hobbled over to the couch, detaching his prosthetic leg as soon as he was sitting once again. “It’s not just because it’s...me, right?”

“Hmm?”

“Like, if it was Hazel, you wouldn’t want her breathing down your neck either. Right?”

“Well, Hazel doesn’t breathe, so--”

“Will.” His voice sounded pained, and it made Will’s hand tighten around his screwdriver. 

He shook his head. “No, it’s not you. I just need space when I’m working, you know? I can’t have somebody so close or else I get...distracted.”

“Oh. Okay.” 

Will wasn’t about to tell him that it really was just  _ Nico  _ that was the distraction, but not in the way he probably thought. As he went back to work, Will said, “Why don’t you tell me more about that research you’re doing.”

Will could practically hear the eye roll from across the room. “I already told you everything. I think Hazel found some different stuff, though.” Nico turned toward the door and called out for his sister, then they heard the  _ clunk clunk clunk _ of her footsteps coming up the stairs. 

“What is it?” she asked from the doorway.

“You were doing your own research in Central, right?” Nico asked, propping himself up on the arm of the couch. “Did you find anything we didn’t already know?”

Will turned toward the doorway to see Hazel’s armored form just outside the room in the hallway, and watched as she sat on the floor, as though making herself comfortable. He let her words wash over him - a bunch of scientific jargon, just like Nico had been talking before, and Will resumed his work. 

“It’s so  _ boring _ here,” Nico complained after he and Hazel had run out of things to discuss. 

“Don’t be rude, Nico,” his sister scolded.

Will snorted. “Don’t mind him, Hazel, he just doesn’t know how to have fun anymore.”

“I do too! But I can’t research or explore anything here--”

“Researching isn’t  _ fun.” _

“Neither is machine work.”

“That’s just because you don’t know what you’re  _ doing.” _

Hazel chimed in, “We could ask Naomi if she needs any help around the house. Maybe we could even transmute something for her.”

“I only have one arm, Hazel, I can’t transmute anything!”

“Already forgotten how to draw circles on the floor, huh?” Will asked. 

“Shut up! Once I get my arm back, maybe I’ll just transmute my leg back together so we can finally get the hell out of here.”

Will spun around in his chair and glared, pointing a wrench at Nico as he said, “If you even  _ touch _ my hard work with your alchemy shit, I’ll knock you out.”

“It’s that  _ alchemy shit _ that’s paying you for this!”

Will turned back to his work table and located a piece of chalk, which he tossed over his shoulder. “There. Draw yourself some circles and quit yelling at me.”

Nico huffed and slid onto the floor to pick up the chalk that hadn’t quite made it to him, though he didn’t bother pulling himself back up. He slowly started outlining a circle on the hardwood floor, though it was difficult for him to keep himself balanced without a second arm to keep him propped up.

“Hey, Hazel, how do I draw a transmutation circle that’ll teleport me back to Central?”

Will’s fingers were starting to feel stiff the next time he allowed himself to think of anything that wasn’t automail, and when he took a break to flex and stretch them, he realized how much he was fighting to keep his eyes open. 

“It’s really late,” Hazel said, her voice softer than before, “and you probably shouldn’t try to pull an all-nighter after you yelled at Nico for doing so last night.”

Will looked back to see Nico fast asleep on the couch once again, and chuckled. “Yeah, you’re right. He’s not gonna be happy about waiting another day for his leg, though.”

“That just means we get to stay here longer,” Hazel pointed out. “Trust me, that’ll make him just as happy, if not more. As much as he likes to pretend, I know he would rather spend his time here than out in the city, but that’s just what we have to do to get our bodies back. Once we’re back to normal, you’ll have a terrible time trying to get him to leave you alone, I’m sure of it.”

Will smiled sadly down at the arm in front of him. “Nah, he won’t need me anymore then.”

“You know that’s not true. He’ll always need you. We both will.”

“Thank you, Hazel.” Will stood and made his way over to the couch, carefully stepping over the circles Nico had drawn and the few tiny sculptures he’d transmuted. He couldn’t just leave Nico there for the night when there were perfectly good beds he could be sleeping in. Before he tried to move Nico, though, he collected the discarded prosthetic and tossed it to Hazel. “Take that for me, would you? He’ll be pissed if he wakes up and his leg is in the other room.”

She nodded. “I’d offer to carry him, but I can’t exactly get to him.”

Will waved her off. “It’s fine. What is he, a hundred pounds, soaking wet? And that’s with both arms and legs. I can lift him, no problem.” He scooped Nico up off the couch, struggling to balance him for a moment since he only had one leg to hold onto, then started out of the room. 

He brought Nico to the guest room where he and Hazel had left their belongings, and carefully set Nico down on the unmade bed inside. Will started to move away to allow Nico to rest, but a hand shot out and grabbed Will’s shirt. 

“You stay here or go fix my arm,” Nico mumbled, his face squished into the pillow. 

Will smiled down at him, and reached down to carefully undo Nico’s hair from the bun it had been tied up in earlier. “Even mechanics have to sleep sometime.”

“Then  _ stay here,” _ Nico growled, tugging Will closer. “Loser machine junkie.”

Will’s heart skipped a beat. “Then make room, alchemy freak.”

Nico scooted a few inches toward the wall, unable to make much space on such a small bed, but Will tried to make do with the room available to him. He laid down, pressed close to Nico, and ran his fingers through the other’s long hair until they both succumbed to sleep. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!
> 
> the one thing i couldnt manage to squeeze into this fic is that regardless of the fact that hazel has become a suit of armor nico DOES still kiss her on the head whenever he can reach  
> he really is 5 feet tall at most and she sure is at least 7 feet tall


End file.
